Always You
by SniperCT
Summary: It's been five years since Kitty had been at Xavier's or with the X-men, and they needed a new Comp Sci teacher. A lot can change in five years, Kitty certainly had. But the things that mattered most remained the same.
1. Professor K

**_(I like romances and I wanted to write a transkitty for personal reasons, and this is my #1 OTP. So uh. Here it is!)_**

"I'm Professor Katherine Pryde." She wrote her name on the tablet, looking up at the display on the wall as it appeared there. Kitty always liked writing her name the old fashioned way. It _fit_ , the way it flowed from her fingertips. She was particularly proud of the flourish on the K. A flash of red in the window on the door drew her attention. She had the strangest sense of deja vu, a familiar pricking at the back of her mind. Hesitant, but warm.

 _Rachel._ The blur of red was gone, and no answer whispered in her head.

Putting it aside to worry about later, Kitty turned to regard her class. They looked back at her with varying levels of expectation and she put on her biggest smile. "Welcome to Comp Sci."

Nearly five years had gone by since the last time Kitty had been at Xavier's. The layout of most of the buildings had changed in that time, to say nothing of the grounds. The only areas that were remotely familiar were underground and even those hallways and training grounds had been redesigned. What had the X-Men been up to in her absence?

She could scarcely find her way around and there were many new faces, a new generation of mutants coming to learn and be accepted. Even some of the staff were new to her. It was just a little overwhelming. It took Kitty twenty minutes to find the Teacher's lounge, though most of that time was spent talking to students. None of them really knew who she was or what she'd been a part of here for most of her teenage years. More astute students might have recognized her last name.

Outside the lab she caught up with Hank, who acted like nothing was different with her. It was a good sign. The school wasn't the only thing that had changed. Kitty certainly had. Would old friends recognize her? Would they even still want to be friends.

The lounge was comfortable looking, with a long table and a couch in addition to all the amenities, such as a near-sentient coffee machine that liked to alter people's drinks. Sitting on the couch was a familiar looking face, red hair cut to shoulder length and shaved on the left side. Kitty chewed on her lip before calling out a greeting. "Uh...hey."

Rachel looked up from her phone to see the person she'd glimpsed only briefly through the door. Kitty's hair was longer, a barely contained mass of brown curls that went down her back and her face was softer and a little rounder, but Rachel knew her expressive eyes. The last time she'd seen those eyes, Kitty had been called 'Michael' and 'Michael' had been deeply unhappy. She rose to her feet maybe a little too fast in nervous excitement. "Hey! Wow, it's been… a long time. Uhm…Katherine now, right? That's what it says on the website, and...yeah.."

Kitty held out her hand, sure that her surface thoughts were drowning in anxiety and Rachel would be able to pick them up. "Yeah, it's been a really long time. Katherine is good. Or Kate. Or Kitty." She laughed. "Any of the above really, I like them all."

"Kate…" Rachel liked the sound of it on her tongue. She always had. In the alternate future Rachel had come from, she'd known a Kate Pryde who'd also once been called Michael. Instead of taking Kitty's hand, though, she pulled her into a fierce hug. Too many emotions to count inundated her. "You never called, you never _wrote_ , I should be so _mad_ at you."

Any anger Rachel had felt had burned out a long time ago, replaced by fond regret and loneliness. Kitty leaving hade made her feel so alone. Rachel pulled back, hands gripping Kitty's shoulders as she grinned at her through blurry eyes. "But you look a lot happier than you used to."

Tucking some hair behind her ear, Kitty tried to find the right words. Rachel was looking at her so intently and she didn't know how to handle it. "I just needed to...figure myself out."

She gestured at herself. "You said something once, that got me thinking. Like twisting around in my head and making my stomach ache thinking. When I was in college, I made some friends and took some classes and they kind of opened my eyes to a lot of things. So I starting thinking more. Like have you ever stared in the mirror and cried? It just...hit me one night and it felt so…right" She twirled her hands in the air.

Rachel nodded in understanding. Maybe she couldn't quite connect with what Kitty had gone through but she'd spent more than one night questioning her purpose in life. Though being a telepath helped her with the empathy thing, and she'd never been able to avoid Kitty's emotions.

"I could have texted though." Kitty frowned, lowering her head. "I'm sorry. I just didn't know what to tell you. Or how to...Or what you'd think. And then that position opened up and believe me the ride on the anxiety train since I applied has been all kinds of awful and it hasn't really stopped yet if I'm going to be a hundred percent honest here it's just kinda chugging along and..."

And Rachel was smiling at her like she was adorable. "It's okay. You're back now and we've got a lot of things to catch up on. I'm sure you don't want to spend all day talking about this kind of thing."

Kitty wasn't particularly inclined to let Rachel go. "I missed you."

Feelings were flooding back, much stronger than Rachel ever remembered them being and they weren't helped by what she was picking up from Kitty. Rachel was used to sensing a little jolt from someone's mind when they were attracted to her. When Kitty had first looked at her that jolt had been strong and _very_ flattering. Rachel touched Kitty's cheek. "I missed you too, Kate. I'm glad you found yourself."

Kitty stared into Rachel's beautiful green eyes. As she did so, something fell into place, a connection that had been missing at the back of her mind. It was one of those things that she hadn't even known she was missing until now. That connection pulsed and her psychic link with Rachel reopened. Being invited backed in made her want to cry because it felt like coming home.

She suddenly wanted to waste away hours with Rachel, like the old days. Just the two of them. "...Want to catch up over at a movie night tonight?"

"Sure!" Rachel meant to say more, but the door opened.

"Kitten!"

Kitty turned around to see Ororo beaming at her, and she didn't know why she'd ever been worried. Mutants knew better than many what it was like to be outcast.


	2. Reconnection

"Okay, cheesy gay romance, Star Wars, or muppets?" Rachel swept her arm dramatically over a pile of disks that she'd placed on the coffee table. Her tastes were very particular and Star Wars was only really there because she knew exactly how much Kitty liked those movies. Rachel hoped that would help Kitty feel welcome.

"You had me at all of the above," Kitty flopped onto the couch, kicking her bare feet onto the coffee table. She'd changed out of her professorial suit and skirt into comfortable sweat pants and a t-shirt. With her hair frazzled and loose it was the somehow the sexiest combination that Rachel had ever seen.

"Some things never change." Rachel picked a movie at random and put it in before settling in next to Kitty. She tried to leave enough space for Kitty to not feel crowded. "How was your first day?"

"Fun. I mean that!" Kitty straightened up, a flush forming on her face from Rachel's proximity. "The kids are...really smart, and pay attention to what I was talking about. I get to run a class through the Danger Room tomorrow too, and I can't wait for that. I don't think they know what they're getting into. Before I ran into you I caught up with Hank. I saw Logan, Emma and Bobby too."

Rachel was pretty sure the kids had no idea what awaited them with Kitty in charge of the Danger Room. She'd have to sneak down to watch. "Yeah? How'd that go?"

Leaning against Rachel, Kitty shrugged. "Logan already knew. He and Kurt actually kind of helped with my transition a few years ago. Bobby needed a few minutes to process but I think he'll be fine. He took it a lot better than some other friends I used to have did. Or my mom." She looked up at Rachel. "Did you know he was gay?"

"He came out around the same time I realized I was bi." Rachel put her arm around Kitty. It hurt a little that Logan and Kurt had known and she hadn't found out until she'd learned they'd hired a new teacher. She couldn't be mad at them either, or Kitty. It was Kitty's choice to tell people and Rachel couldn't say what she'd have done in Kitty's place, but she tended to be the angrier and less optimistic of the two of them.

Unable to help herself, she started to play with Kitty's hair, twirling a curl around her finger. "What about Frost? You two hated each other more than me and her hate each other and that's saying something."

"After a scathing comment about my attire she made me promise to go shopping with her." Kitty mimicked Emma's voice. " _We simply cannot have you walking around in that skirt with that top, darling. Saturday. Shopping. My treat. No buts._ "

Rachel laughed. "Kate, you were _never_ good at dressing yourself."

"Says Mrs. Mullet," she smacked the back of her hand into Rachel's stomach. "Ass."

"You love it and you know it." Rachel pulled Kitty close, snuggling in against her as the movie started. She'd seen it a few times already and she knew Kitty had seen it at least as often, so she focused instead on her friend. Kitty's hair was like tactile ambrosia, Rachel decided. "And we don't talk about the mullet. The mullet was a mistake."

"I really like what you've got going on right now. So much better than the mullet."

 _Is this okay?_

Startled at the sudden mental voice, Kitty glanced back up at Rachel and responded in kind, _The movie? Or the telepathy?_

 _Both, really._

She smiled, then leaned up and kissed Rachel's cheek. _You're always welcome in my head, Ray. Just remember to knock before diving in too deep. I might need to tidy up._

Pressing her cheek into the top of Kitty's head, Rachel sighed. _It was always so easy with you. I missed this._ Maybe not friends constantly querying about when they were going to hook up because of how close they were. Rachel definitely didn't miss that. There was probably already an office pool on it.

 _I missed this too._ Kitty's biggest regret about her old life had been not contacting Rachel, but she'd been paralyzed with uncertainty and fear. There were certain people that she had been terrified of losing and Rachel had been at the top of that list. Kitty was vaguely aware she could have lost Rachel anyway. She hadn't talked to her in so long that she wouldn't have blamed Rachel for thinking she'd been forgotten. But she was here now and the people that mattered most to her had accepted her. It eased the sting of her last conversation with her mother.

 _We should make this a regular thing._ Rachel felt warm, but it wasn't a bad kind of warmth.

If Rachel kept doing that thing to Kitty's hair, Kitty was going to melt. Kitty cuddled into her arms as another thought crept into her mind. "Ray? Your future me, the one you grew up with. Were they like me?"

"Yeah. Her name was Kate, too." Rachel leaned her cheek on the top of Kitty's head. "And she was trans, like you."

"'Okay. Why didn't you tell me?" Rachel had only ever said she'd known her in the future. She had been so frustratingly vague on the details that it had kind of made Kitty more confused for a time.

Rachel shifted, looking down at Kitty. Curious brown eyes looked up at her, and Rachel stroked her cheek. "I didn't know how you'd react, or if it was even the same for you. There are so many alternate timelines, maybe this one you were actually supposed to be a man. The Professor thought that we shouldn't push you in any one direction and let you figure it out for yourself. But I did drop a few hints here and there. Just in case."

"Just in case." Kitty snorted. Of course the Professor had thought that. He'd probably thought it would be better for Kitty to figure it out on her own. The jury of her opinion was still deliberating on that. Kitty sat up, pushing her hair away from her face. "Just in case stuck with me for a year until I understood why I couldn't stop thinking about it."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Kitty flashed Rachel a brilliant smile. "I think it all worked out in the end."

"Okay, but you need to know. She's not 'my' Kate. _You_ are. You're my best friend, my.." Rachel's voice broke. "My anchor in this timeline, to this world." And Kitty had _left_ , she'd been gone and been through so much. She hadn't let Rachel be there to help her through it, to offer her support. Rachel had felt so lost and alone. Five years was a long time to feel lost. Although she had tried dating around and building friendships, it had usually ended in disaster. Rachel didn't exactly have much in the way of interpersonal skills.

Loneliness crept along the link, and Kitty tried to be reassuring. "I'm here now, and we can lean on each other, okay?"

It meant a lot to her that Rachel felt that way. She ran her fingers through the soft fuzz on the side of Rachel's head before she wiped at the tears on Rachel's face. Rachel could still be vulnerable around her and she was glad for that, and that she could feel vulnerable around Ray in return. They'd always clicked together like two pieces of the same puzzle, and the ease with which they'd picked up where they'd left off was proof of that. Slightly terrifying proof but Kitty wanted to make it up to her. On impulse and with more bravery than she'd realized she had, she blurted, "Saturday night, do you want to get dinner together?"

"I…" Rachel stared at her. Was this reality? "Like a date?"

"Yep."

"You're just...asking like that?" This hadn't been something that Rachel had expected and she wasn't prepared for it, but she did have a clever comment in response. "Who are you and what happened to that _awkward_ Pryde I used to know?"

"Remind me to tell you about my ex-boyfriend sometime. He did wonders for my self esteem." Even though the answer was clear on Rachel's face and in her thoughts, Kitty still wanted to hear it in Rachel's voice. "So is that a yes? I mean it only took me five years to work up the courage to ask. No pressure or anything."

"It's a date!" Rachel hugged her, laughing.

Kitty squeezed Rachel tightly. She was home again, and she had her best friend back. And maybe something more could come out of it. "Lets watch Star Wars next."

"For you, I'll put up with it," Rachel teased. The movies were fine, but she liked to give Kitty a hard time.

"I meant," Kitty said, jumping to her feet. " _All of them_ "

"There aren't enough hours left before classes tomorrow for more than one! If you want to sleep, anyway." It was a half-hearted protest. Rachel knew this was a fight she'd probably lose. If she even wanted to win it at all.

"I know." Kitty started sorting the movies into her preferred order and looked up at Ray with mischievous eyes. "We'll just have to do one a night. Easy."

Rachel leaned forward. "That's entrapment."

"Are you complaining?"

"No, but I'm going to need a drink."

"Make me something too, will you?" Kitty danced to the tv, popped out the last movie they'd watched and put in the new one. "Scotch, if you have it."

Rachel turned around and stared at her. " _Scotch_? Really?" Even whiskey made more sense on account of Logan. Or beer.

"Well you could give me an Orgasm instead, but I like scotch now, okay? Blame that ex-boyfriend."

Too much of a redhead to be able to stop the blush that flooded over her face, Rachel knelt down to open the cabinet. She chose to ignore Kitty's joke. "Your ex sounds like a bad influence. Not that I'm really going to complain."

Sitting back down and leaning her head over the back of the couch, Kitty watched Rachel. This was too much fun and she was probably enjoying it more than she should. "Jealous? What about you?"

Returning with two glasses and a bottle, Rachel pointed at her. "You leave my love life out of this."

"You're avoiding the question."

"So are you." Rachel's love life was generally a disaster of biblical proportions.

Kitty took the proffered glass. "Truce?"

Clinking her glass against Kitty's, Rachel rolled her eyes. "Truce. So which one are we watching first?"

" _A New Hope_." Kitty wriggled into a more comfortable position. "We have to get to the reveal about Anakin and Vader before flashing back to his downfall. If you're lucky I won't make you go through the cartoons."

This had always been Kitty's thing, and Rachel enjoyed it via a kind of contact high. It made Kitty happy, and Rachel was happy to see it was still a positive escape for her. She'd even put up with _the cartoons_ for Kitty too.

Kitty made herself at home against Rachel's side, and Rachel relaxed. As the Tantive IV was boarded, Rachel was thinking towards other things.

 _Stay here, tonight? After the movie._

A smile crossed Kitty's lips. _Okay. I always did want to sneak into your room for night time snuggling._

 _Is that what you called it? Unless my memory is bad I don't think that was the only thing on your mind._

 _Shut up. I can't believe you remember that._

 _Night time snuggling can be yours, Miss Pryde_ , Rachel's mental laugh echoed in Kitty's mind.


	3. Fancy Dinner and Fancy Cars

Only back a week and she was going on a date with her best friend and high school crush. Kitty felt like she was in one of her favorite fanfics or a cheesy gay movie. She just needed one of those dress up song numbers to make everything perfect while she figured out what the hell she was going to wear.

She settled on a nice long skirt and a blue blouse. The color suited her and it wasn't one of the outfits Emma had insisted on buying for her. Rachel and Emma didn't really get along and Kitty didn't want to make Rachel feel uncomfortable by wearing one of those for this date.

Fidgeting with the Star of David around her neck and then with her hair in a vain attempt to tame it, Kitty decided she was almost ready.

 _You ready?_ Rachel's mental telegram startled her.

 _Just let me touch up my make-up, and I will be!_

Grinning, Rachel leaned against the wall outside Kitty's room and folded her arms. She was nervous, but she hoped she'd knock Kitty's socks off. Choosing the right dress hadn't been easy, and she'd eventually asked for help. Rogue had made her try on at least thirty things before they'd settled on this one, while simultaneously giving her the shovel talk. Rachel was pretty sure that Rogue would bury her somewhere on the grounds if she hurt Kitty.

After a final check of her face for errant stubble, Kitty bounced to the door and swung it open. Giddy nervousness gave way to outright staring. Rachel was in a red dress with a v neckline, and was the kind of slinky-with-a-slit-up-one-thigh that seemed lifted right from Kitty's fantasies. Mouth dry, she rasped. "I suddenly feel underdressed."

"You look beautiful," Rachel assured her. Satisfied that Kitty's socks had indeed been knocked off, she held out her hand. "Come on, I get to show off my car. It's a convertible!"

"You're the beautiful one, with your perfect body and your slinky dresses." Kitty had always felt jealous, which had been _really_ confusing. Had she wanted to _be_ Rachel or be _on_ Rachel? It turned out the answer had kind of been both.

"Do you know how hard it is to find a complimentary dress that doesn't expose my back?" Rachel laced her fingers through Kitty's as they walked. People were going to talk. Let them talk. It wasn't like they'd be the first professors to go on a date together.

"Why would you want to hide your back?"

There was no easy way to talk about it. Rachel squeezed Kitty's hand. "A lot's happened since you've been gone. I'll tell you in the car, okay? I don't really want to talk about it in the hallway."

"If it's not easy to talk about you don't have to at all." Kitty grabbed the door to the garage, holding it open for Rachel. Her eyes darted to the way that dress shaped around her rear as Rachel passed her before she caught herself.

"I don't mind sharing with you." Rachel's car was a cherry red corvette with white upholstery. She unlocked it and put the top down. A corvette might be a little much on her salary but she lacked many other expenses and it had been an impulse purchase she hadn't regretted.

"I'm picturing you riding around in this thing and pretending to look cool," Kitty teased, buckling up.

"Hey, I don't need to _pretend_ to look cool!" Rachel didn't really have enough hair to toss, but she pretended to. "I _am_ cool." She reached over into the glove box and pulled out a pair of sunglasses. With dramatic flair, she popped them open and put them on her face.

"Rachel, it's after dark." Rachel was being a dork, and Kitty thought it was cute.

"Cool people don't need to see in the dark."

The garage opened out onto a long driveway that led to the road, and from there the freeway. Rachel had told her she'd pick the place, leading Kitty to some consternation since she'd asked Rachel, not the other way around. But some arguments weren't worth having and Kitty planned to pick the next place. If there was another date, anyway. She really hoped there was.

With the hood down and the wind in her hair, Kitty felt more at peace than she had in a long time. The view in the direction of the driver seat was nice too. Surreptitiously, she edged her hand towards Rachel's arm.

"So, uhm." Rachel's skin burned a little when Kitty's finger brushed it, sparking heat that spread through her like a wildfire. "A few years back, the Shi'ar came knocking. They were still upset about the whole thing with my mom and the Phoenix."

It was a grudge Kitty was familiar with. She nodded, waiting for Ray to continue.

"They… they attacked my grandparents. They wanted to wipe the Grey family line from existence. They burned a brand into my back, a death mark so they could always track me." Rachel's grip on the steering wheel tightened. "Between that and some other things, me and a few others pretty much went to war with the Shi'ar Empire."

"I'm so sorry." It sounded weak, but Kitty wanted to say _something_ and not leave it to silence.

"A lot of bad things happened. Some good things. I met a guy. There was this whole Civil War. He belonged in space, I didn't." Rachel made it sound like it was just another day with the X-men, and it really was. Life didn't slow down for them. It was one crisis to another with no rest in between. Kitty had managed to escape that for a time, a fact that Rachel was perpetually jealous of. "Are you absolutely sure you want to come back? It might seem peaceful now but..."

"A bit late for that. But i'm very familiar with the trauma llama that's the X-Men." Kitty put her hand fully on Rachel's arm. "I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere. Not again. "

"You might regret it."

Moving her hand to Rachel's cheek, Kitty replied, "Maybe, but I don't regret coming back to you."

"You know just what to say to a girl." It was a joking line, but Rachel really meant it. Korvus had made her feel safe, and the way Kitty was looking at her sparked that same feeling in her chest. Rachel didn't exactly need people to protect her, not physically anymore. But Kitty could protect her where it counted, in her heart.

"Do I need to be jealous of your space-man?" Kitty turned towards her, head cocked. "Honestly, _I_ should be the one with a space boyfriend."

A short barking laugh erupted from Rachel. "You just want to hook up with Han Solo. Korvus was nothing like that though. A bit intense and intoxicating, among other adjectives. The Phoenix linked us in a way, at least until I lost the connection. But no, you don't need to be jealous. He isn't the only intoxicating person in my life."

The Han Solo factor was real. Hopefully Korvus's loss would be Kitty's gain. Her stomach burst into butterflies at the look in Rachel's eyes. "Okay. Any girls I should be jealous of?"

"Not really." Rachel's face grew flushed. "There've been a couple but nothing really lasting." Including a sordid and drunken encounter with someone she'd never live down if Kitty ever knew. Smirking at her, Rachel added. "Maybe I've just been waiting for the right brunette."

"Eheh…" Kitty leaned her face on her chin and looked out at the passing scenery to keep Rachel from seeing the color on her cheeks.

 _You're blushing._

 _I'm not._

"You are." Rachel poked her in the leg. "What makes you think I'm even talking about you?"

"The fact that you're on a date with me and not some random girl from the faculty?" Kitty grabbed Rachel's hand, trailing her thumb over her knuckles. The way Rachel kept reacting when Kitty touched her made heat burn in her gut. She'd always been a passionate and physical person but all her senses seemed heightened in Rachel's presence.

"Lucky guess." Rachel's voice was shaky, and she rescued her hand before Kitty somehow got them into an accident. Her love life was a disaster and Korvus had been the only serious relationship she'd ever really had. It dawned on her that she wanted that level of intimacy with Kitty. But how to get that without ruining the friendship they were rebuilding?

Touching her again, Kitty smiled. She was glad to get the subject off of whatever had happened with Rachel's back. It was clearly a traumatic experience and that was the last thing she wanted Ray to focus on tonight. The countryside was awash in moonlight, and before long they were in the city with it's bright lights and crowds of people. As much as she loved Chicago and London, New York had it's own appeal.

The restaurant was kind of fancy. Kitty ordered some wine to go with their meal, and maybe help settle her nerves. Rachel supported the idea too and Kitty realized she was just as nervous, so Kitty launched into a story. "Okay, so you told me about your space man, I'm going to tell you about who I hooked up with in London after my transition."

"Is this the man who corrupted you into scotch?"

"The one and only." Kitty lifted her wine glass, looking into the liquid for a moment. "We didn't get along at first. It was one of those really argumentative relationships that turned into really passionate making-out. But he accepted me for who I was readily enough and he's a very caring person with a very prickly exterior. I ended up hurting him more than he hurt me and we've only recently started talking again."

There was playful banter and then there was actual arguing and Rachel knew what Kitty ultimately preferred. "Any girls?"

"Xi'an."

Rachel leaned back abruptly. "Xi'an? As in our Xi'an? New Mutants Xi'an." Xi'an had been one of the New Mutants and last Rachel had heard had gotten a job in Los Angeles and was dating some actress.

Kitty smiled again. "Yeah."

"What happened?"

"We had our differences. She got a good job on the West Coast too, and I wasn't going to make her miss out on that if I could help it." It felt like they were airing their dirty relationship laundry, which made Kitty's stomach twist. It was like an unspoken dance around what they could be to each other. Sure, she'd only been back a week. But she had missed Rachel for a long time before that. Maybe her thing with Xi'an had tanked because she was still hung up on Rachel.

Conversation turned to the school and students. Kitty told Rachel who she'd caught kissing in the Danger Room and Rachel shared a story about the time Hank's fur had clogged up the intakes on the Blackbird. "The fur was everywhere. We eventually figured out some students had spiked his tea with something to make him shed."

"Did you ever find out who?"

"They were good enough to stay out of sight of the cameras, but not good enough to block their thoughts." Rachel tapped her head. "They spent the rest of the school year on gym cleaning duty."

"I want to say they deserved that but I also want to find them and congratulate them." Kitty was not above a prank war. She was the kind of person to _escalate_ said prank war from a mere skirmish to outright battle. That prank on Hank was horrible. It was also wonderful. Kitty filed it away for future thought.

"Remind me to never tell you who they were." Rachel was sure that Kitty would drag her into it and then she'd never be able to escape. She was also sure she wouldn't mind but they'd probably be on some kind of report for eternity.

"I'll find out. After all." Kitty nudged Rachel's foot with her own. "No one ever did find out what happened to the whiskey Logan used to keep hidden in that grandfather clock in the main foyer.".

"...That was you?" Rachel trailed her toes along Kitty's ankle in response. "Logan spent a month trying to sniff it out.

"I'll bet it's still where I hid it." Kitty shivered, foot stroking the top of Rachel's.

"The school has exploded three times since you were last here." Their feet were making it hard for Rachel to focus on the conversation. She felt like she was sixteen again, and casually covered her mouth to hide her smile.

"Trust me, it's still there."

Rachel wasn't going to rest until Kitty proved that this bottle had somehow survived the chaos of the school without being discovered. "So we're going to have some tonight?"

"If you behave, maybe." Kitty felt Rachel's toes go up to her knee and inhaled her wine down the wrong pipe. She started coughing. "That's not behaving!"


	4. Home

"Okay it doesn't count if it's off the grounds."

Kitty squeezed Rachel's hand, pulling her through the woods. "We're almost there." There was a clearing overlooking the lake. To the east was the school. Most of the buildings were much more modern than Kitty remembered, glass and metal structures that seemed to have a futuristic look to them. A kind of optimistic future that Kitty had always hoped for. "I had to put it in a place where Logan couldn't just sniff it out. Inside would be easy mode."

Letting go of Rachel, Kitty walked up to a tree. She phased her hand inside and pulled out a bottle with the _Three Ships_ label. "This probably cost him like 80 bucks. Remind me to sneak a hundred into his room. Assuage the guilt a little."

Rachel tapped the side of her nose. "He'd know it was you."

Kitty fished a glass out of the tree next. "He probably already does. I did what I could to hide my scent, but he's a blood hound. He just couldn't prove it was me enough to do anything about it."

Taking the bottle, Rachel looked it over. "So. How often did you come out here for a nip."

"Only a couple of times." Kitty held up the glass. "I was mostly saving it for the right occasion. Something like tonight."

"How about we share a glass, and then put it back," Rachel suggested. She opened it and poured. "Make some more of those right occasions."

Kitty took a sip. It had a very rich taste, with various fruits and a hint of vanilla. She closed her eyes, humming in delight. "Oh it's still so good. The first time I tried it I about coughed up a lung."

"You just needed to develop your taste for it." It had a smokey flavor that Rachel found appealing. She passed the glass back and they shared it, standing hand in hand beneath the stars. Kitty's hair tickled Rachel's shoulder as she leaned her head there. Rachel didn't want the moment to end.

Kitty returned the bottle after pouring one more glass, then leaned back into Rachel as they finished that one too. Rachel's arm slid around her, and Kitty turned her face into her shoulder.

"Getting cold?"

Just as reluctant to let go of the moment as Rachel was, Kitty shook her head despite her shivering. "No. Very warm."

"Uh huh." Rachel started to walk them back down towards the school. "You're warm, so that's why you're shivering like a leaf."

Kitty laughed, pretending like she was trying to crawl into Rachel's skin. "Shut up."

Once inside and warming up again, Rachel started to walk Kitty towards her room.

She laced her fingers through Rachel's until they stopped. "So. Dinner a success?"

Rachel cupped her hand on the back of Kitty's head and leaned down to kiss her. Shock rippled through Kitty before she melted into Rachel. She could feel the fire raging between them. As Rachel's kisses grew more insistent, Kitty grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her through the closed door.

Stumbling after Kitty, Rachel wondered if they needed to stop, but she felt Kitty's mind weaving together with her own. It was like a warm embrace, familiar and friendly and a little needy.

 _I don't want to stop._

"Oh good." Rachel breathed. She pushed Kitty towards the bed and Kitty fell back onto it after her knees hit the edge. Kitty's anxiety was coming through loud and clear and she wanted to do all she could to sooth Kitty's nerves. And her own.

Breathless, Kitty ran her hands up Rachel's legs as the redhead moved to straddle her, then pulled Rachel down to kiss her again. Rachel's telepathic reassurances relaxed her and she used their mental link to reassure Rachel about how she liked to be touched.

It suddenly got cold and Rachel realized that her dress had been phased off, exposing her skin to the air. She lifted her head and laughed. "That's cheating."

Kitty's hands stopped moving. "Should we stop?"

"I don't want to." Rachel put her hands over Kitty's and guiding them up her stomach. She drank in the heat sparking in Kitty's eyes and answered with fire of her own.

Sunlight was just peeking through the curtains, but Kitty was already awake. She lay on her side, gently stroking her fingers through Rachel's hair. The light made Rachel's hair light up like a bonfire. The hours that Kitty tended to be up at were early enough that Rachel had always considered them downright evil but today it let Kitty bask.

Kitty's eyes fell to the mark on Rachel's back. Black, with thick lines in the shape of a bird's wings and body, it looked more like a tattoo than a mark of death but Kitty knew how that could be deceiving. She slid her hand down and trailed her finger down one of the lines. Rachel stiffened under her. "I'm sorry."

Shivering, Rachel turned her head to look at Kitty. "...it's okay."

"Okay." Kitty resumed tracing the markings. She leaned down, kissing Rachel on the shoulder as her fingers moved down Rachel's back, only stopping when tears started to make Rachel's eyes glimmer.

Rachel moved onto her side and wrapped her arms around Kitty, burying her face in her chest. A lot of bad memories and death surrounded the mark, but good memories too and it always left Rachel feeling confused. Kitty's fingers had scared her at first, but then she'd grown to like it. More good memories to scar over the bad. "Thanks."

Holding her, Kitty ducked her head down to kiss her cheek, and changed the subject for Rachel's sake. "Last night was amazing."

" _You_ were amazing." Rachel sat up, pushing Kitty onto her back and admiring the way Kitty's hair spread across the pillow. "So when's our next date, Kate? And do you have plans for lunch?"

"Well I was going to meet with my other girlfriend but I guess I can pencil you in."

Rachel's eyebrows disappeared into her hairline. "Does that make me your main girlfriend then, and not the one on the side?"

"Uh I totally didn't mean it that way."

Of course she didn't. Disappointment made Rachel's chest ache. "I figured."

"Did you want me to mean it that way?" Kitty sat up, pulling Rachel against her. She whispered. "It can mean that way."

Rachel didn't answer her, because she didn't really have an answer. She thought it was kind of stupid. They hadn't seen each other in five years. It took time to develop that kind of depth. Or it was supposed to. Rachel wondered if something was wrong with her, to have these feelings return a thousand times stronger than they had ever been.

Suddenly, Kitty was kissing her slow and gentle, her mind opened to her. Rachel hesitated only a moment before diving in, swimming through Kitty's mind and guided by the ghost of her thoughts. At the end, they stood on a plateau overlooking a sunset.

"I remember this place." Puzzled, Rachel looked around, taking Kitty's hand. "I think. I think I was here in a dream."

"You might have been, I never closed our link and you could have wandered in while sleeping. I always … here was where I could imagine myself the way I was supposed to be. And where I could come to find the things that made me happy." Kitty turned to Rachel. "When I heard the name Kate, it sank into me and came to this place in my mind and it stayed there until I was ready to accept it. Maybe the name came from your thoughts or what you told me about your future, or maybe I heard it elsewhere before we ever met. I don't really know. But it clicked and I suddenly knew who I was."

"Thank you for showing me this." If Rachel felt this kind of relief that Kitty had found herself, she could only imagine how Kitty must feel. Rachel had always been lost. Out of time and out of her mind, a daughter of two legends she never felt like she could live up to. Kitty had been that anchor that helped keep her in place, the light house in a storm or the landmark that always helped her find North. Whoever she was meant to be, she hadn't found it yet, but she felt like she was going in the right direction when Kitty was around.

"I've never shown anyone else." Kitty squeezed Rachel's hand. "But I figure, if I can show anyone, it's you. It's...always been you. Always." If Kitty believed in soul-mates, Rachel would be hers. A woman who came through time and found her. Who always accepted who she was even before Kitty had accepted herself. Maybe they'd needed the years apart to really see that. "Can we be a thing? I'd really like to be a thing."

"I wonder who'll win the office pool on how long this took." Rachel let go of Kitty's hand only so she could hug her instead. "We can be a thing. God..."

"Illyana," Kitty predicted, nuzzling her head into Rachel's neck. "She's spent the past three days trolling me with questions about the wedding and requests to be the one to pick out the music."

Rachel laughed, and they snapped back to Kitty's room. Kitty wiped at Rachel's cheeks, and tried to sound less choked up than she was. "But I think we can take that slower."

"We can cheat." Rachel leaned into the touch. "Set a date and elope so that we win it all."

Kitty smiled. "We'll need an accomplice. I'll talk to Logan. He can take a cut for that whiskey."

They let the silence take hold. Kitty kissed Rachel's neck, slow and lazy. It was a struggle to keep herself from tearing up.

"Kitty?" Rachel's arms tightened around Kitty . It was really sinking in what she'd said a moment ago. And it was dawning on Rachel that she felt the same way. Or it would if she hadn't always known it. "It's always been you for me, too. Always."

"Welcome home," Kitty whispered. "For both of us."

**FIN**


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